Courtesan and her mother 1857

Thomas Couture made this oil painting, Courtesan and Her Mother, in 19th-century France. In a departure from the highly finished and polished academic painting of the time, Couture often left his paintings in a sketch-like state. Couture’s image of a courtesan being instructed by her mother draws upon earlier traditions of moralizing genre painting and history painting. In a period of rapid social change, there was anxiety about the decline of traditional morality. Here the artist hints at the commodification of women and the perceived decadence of modern life, which were common themes in the art and literature of the time. Couture was a teacher whose students included Édouard Manet, and his influence can be seen in the development of modern art in France. By examining the journals and letters of artists, literary sources, and the critical reception of the work, we can better understand the social and institutional context in which it was produced.